Holiday Lettings and the ETV Licence in Mallorca

In 2026, a new ETV licence for holiday letting in Mallorca is available only for detached houses, terraced and semi-detached houses, and as ETV60 for your own main residence, and only by buying tourist places from the Consell de Mallorca. A place costs €3,500 (detached house), €875 (terraced or semi-detached house) or €291.67 (ETV60). New registrations for apartments in multi-family buildings have been banned across the Balearic Islands since Decreto-ley 4/2025. As at October 2026.

When do you need an ETV licence?

You need an ETV registration as soon as you let a residential property to tourists for stays of no more than 30 nights. Legally this is the comercialización de estancias turísticas en viviendas. You register it with the Consell de Mallorca by DRIAT (declaración responsable). Owners and marketers must deal with the administration electronically for this (Ley 8/2012, Art. 50).

Are new ETV licences still available in Mallorca in 2026?

Yes, but only through the Consell's temporary exchange of places: in March 2026, 1,069 places were put out to tender and allocated on 8 June 2026 by public lottery. No additional places are created in this way, because every new place requires deregistrations elsewhere (1:1 principle, Decreto-ley 4/2025).

• Application period: 23 March to 8 April 2026, electronic only, only by owners or usufructuaries, one application per property.
• According to press reports there were 721 applications. If you were not drawn, you stay on the waiting list for six months (until about December 2026).
• After allocation, payment, the municipal zone certificate and the DRIAT follow within three months.
• Newly acquired places may not be transferred to third parties for five years.
• The CBAT consortium gives no further call on its home page as at 8 October 2026.

What does a tourist place cost?

A tourist place (plaza turística) costs between €291.67 and €3,500 depending on the category, and the number of places depends on the Cédula de habitabilidad.

Category	Price per place	Example, 6 places
ETV: detached house without condominium ownership	€3,500	€21,000
ETVPL: only terraced and semi-detached houses in condominium ownership	€875	€5,250
ETV60: own main residence, a maximum of 60 days a year	€291.67	about €1,750

Prices according to the CBAT resolution of 3 December 2024, confirmed in the resolution of 11 March 2026. Decreto-ley 4/2025 also allows places to be swapped between private individuals; the sources checked give no official price for this.

What requirements must the property meet?

The property must meet all of the following points before you file a DRIAT (Consell procedure sheet):

• The building is at least five years old and was used privately as a home during that time.
• Valid Cédula de habitabilidad or an equivalent document.
• Certificate from the municipality that the property is in a suitable zone (zona apta).
• The required places have been purchased.
• The property is not on protected rural land (suelo rústico protegido).
• Not a price-controlled or protected-status home (VPO).
• Its own water meter and at least one bathroom per four places.
• Minimum score in the modernisation plan (Anexo 6, Decreto 20/2015).
• No more than three homes marketed to tourists per owner, including this one.
• Valid liability insurance.
• For condominium ownership: consent of the owners' association.
• For ETV60: the owner's empadronamiento (registration certificate).

Where is holiday letting allowed?

Whether a property can be let depends on the type of building and its location. The municipal zone certificate, the Consell's 2018 zoning and the PIAT (Plan de Intervención en Ámbitos Turísticos, July 2020) are decisive. Under the 2018 zoning, only ETV60 is provided for in saturated or mature tourist zones.

Property and location	New ETV	Conditions
Detached house in a suitable zone	Yes (ETV)	Zone certificate, €3,500 per place, all requirements above
Terraced or semi-detached house in condominium ownership	Yes (ETVPL)	Exception to the ban, owners' association resolution, entry for five years, renewable
Apartment in a multi-family building	No	Ban on new DRIAT since Decreto-ley 4/2025, only exception ETV60
Existing ETV in a multi-family building	Continuation	Renewal every five years, as long as the zone and association agree
Own main residence, any type of building	Yes (ETV60)	A maximum of 60 days a year, €291.67 per place
Saturated zones, e.g. Peguera, Santa Ponça, Palmanova-Magaluf	ETV60 only	2018 zoning, provisional; the municipal certificate decides
Port Andratx, Camp de Mar, Sant Elm	Case by case	Classified as Zone 2 in 2018, the certificate from the municipality of Andratx decides
Protected rural land	No	No DRIAT possible
Palma	No	City area fully closed to new places since February 2026

In Palma, holiday apartments in multi-family buildings have been banned since 2018. On 3 February 2026 the city's urban planning authority additionally decided to declare the entire city area an unsuitable zone (press report of the same day; check the implementation status with the town hall). Existing places remain, and non-permanent registrations are not renewed. Municipalities outside Palma can also regulate more strictly, and what always decides is the specific plot.

What penalties apply for letting without a licence?

Illegal holiday letting can cost up to €500,000 in the Balearic Islands (Decreto-ley 4/2025). By July 2026 the Consell had opened 146 fine proceedings, according to its own statement of 15 September 2026, 40% more than in the whole of 2025.

Severity	Range	Example
Minor	Warning to €5,000	for a first offence sometimes only a warning
Serious	€5,001 to €50,000	Advertising without DRIAT: €30,001 to €50,000
Very serious	€50,001 to €500,000	Marketing in an unauthorised type of building or zone, or without purchased places

False information in the DRIAT can also lead to a ban of up to one year on new registrations.

Which number goes in the listing, and does the national register still apply?

The listing must permanently show the Balearic registration number of the property, and it must be given to the guest on arrival (Consell guide). The Supreme Court annulled the national register under Real Decreto 1312/2024 (Registro Único, number for platforms from 1 July 2025) on 19 May 2026 in judgment 620/2026, because the state lacks competence. The digital single point of contact (Ventanilla Única Digital) and the platforms' data obligations remain. The Balearic register applies unchanged.

Ongoing obligations also include reporting guests to the police, liability insurance, the tourist tax and the rules of Ley 1/2025 against parties and nuisance.

What is new or disputed in 2026?

• 11 April 2025: Decreto-ley 4/2025 bans new DRIAT for apartments in condominium ownership and creates the exchanges of places. Parliament confirmed it on 6 May 2025.
• 3 February 2026: Palma closes the entire city area to new places.
• 19 May 2026: the national register is struck down.
• 8 June 2026: lottery for 1,069 places, after earlier procedures failed because of IT problems. The opposition (Més per Mallorca) demanded information on 19 August 2026 about the allocation of places and the revenue.

What does this mean for the purchase decision?

A legally secure, active and transferable ETV can increase the market value. But the value lies not in the word "licence" but in the register entry, places, zoning, owners' association consent and quality requirements. The Consell also reviews homes that have not been marketed for three years in a row for definitive deregistration. For the taxation of rental income, and for yield and management, see the guide to letting in Mallorca.

Due diligence before buying: what should you check?

• Current register entry and the exact ETV category (ETV, ETVPL or ETV60).
• Number and origin of the tourist places.
• Valid DRIAT, amendment or transfer documents.
• Municipal certificate on zone suitability (no more than three months old for the 2026 allocation of places).
• Certificate of habitability (Cédula) stating the number of places.
• Building legality with no outstanding planning breaches.
• For shared ownership: statutes, deed of division, resolutions and land registry position.
• Whether the ETV can be continued, renewed or transferred after the purchase.

A property should be valued as an ETV property only if the ability to let it has been proven legally and administratively before signing. Anything else is speculation. The rules change frequently; have your individual case reviewed by a lawyer or tax adviser. Sources as at 8 October 2026.